Amazon is trading at its lowest valuation ever… yet Walmart is trading like it’s
By Laura Meyer · February 11, 2026 · Curated by George's Blog
Amazon is trading at its lowest valuation ever… yet Walmart is trading like it’s going to dominate 1 out of every 12 dollars the US consumer spends.
So what’s going on?
From where I sit, as the CEO of an agency that’s spent the last nine years operating and scaling brands on Amazon, and more recently helping brands grow on Walmart and beyond, I think that framing misses what’s actually happening.
One key difference is how these companies are approaching AI infrastructure.
Amazon, through AWS, is making massive long-term bets. They are actively building and expanding data center capacity to support AI workloads and cloud infrastructure, spending tens of billions to ensure they remain the backbone of the AI economy.
Whereas Walmart’s approach is very different.
Walmart does have technology infrastructure, but they aren’t building hyperscale cloud and data center networks the way Amazon is. Instead, they’ve leaned into partnerships and a hybrid cloud strategy — working with players like Microsoft Azure and collaborating with AI companies rather than trying to own the full stack.
They’re moving fast, rolling out consumer-facing AI features early, and doing it without putting quite as much capital at risk.
And the future of agentic commerce isn’t theoretical anymore. For early adopters, it’s already here. Even the Super Bowl ads this week made it clear: AI-driven shopping is going mainstream, and the advertising machine is coming for it too.
Which raises a bigger question: Does Wall Street see Walmart as a hedge against the AI bubble?
They aren’t pouring billions into data centers. And while they’ve launched Sparky, their AI shopping assistant, their strategy feels more partner-driven and execution-focused than infrastructure-heavy.
But ultimately, the real question isn’t who has the flashiest assistant…it’s who will win the transactions?
AI is already influencing customer decisions. We commissioned an AI shopping survey at Envision Horizons, and what we found was striking...
-51% of consumers bought a different brand than the one they originally researched because of AI suggestions.
- Over 50% of consumers discovering products through LLMs are still purchasing through Amazon
So even when discovery shifts, Amazon is still capturing checkout.
Walmart is moving fast, and in my opinion, rolling out some genuinely strong AI features. But in the world we’re entering, retailers may end up competing less for discovery… and more for the infrastructure layer: checkout, fulfillment, and transaction ownership.
My hot take: as discovery moves to LLMs, the real battle will be who becomes the default place consumers actually complete the purchase.
#agenticcommerce #Amazon #walmart